Just Her Luck
by GloriousFandoms
Summary: Holly Potter was several things: a resident of the greatest room in the Dursley household, the cupboard, a bored bookworm, an overworked Cinderella for said household, and full time disappointment. Oh, don't forget resident freak that is able to do strange things. But, turning out to be a witch? Well, in the life of Holly Potter. That would be just her luck.
1. Chapter 1

_**Disclaimer: I only own Holly, my OC, and any other OCs in this story. JK Rowling owns everything else and any borrowed lines from the novels that will probably end up in this story. Any quoted references that may end up in this story belongs to the original owner of said quotes.**_

* * *

Holly Potter laid on the rough and stiff mattress in her own cramped cupboard that was located beneath the set of stairs in her lovely aunt and uncle's home. Honestly, she rather enjoyed this tiny little place and the isolation from the rest of the world it brings. It was like her own private box, safe and sheltered from the outside world and her own guardians. A term she used rather loosely.

Here she was able to read to her heart's content from the books she had been slowly stealing from school. Each one holding a new world to escape and live it. Each book was placed in separate small stacks on the shelf behind her bed.

Her clothes, that were extremely uncomfortable eighties clothes that fabric gave her rashes, were in a small pile underneath her mattress. The only access to light Holly had was tiny lightbulb that usually takes several pulls to turn on and hung loosely above her bed and the vent on her door.

Yet, she was actually content. Holly knew that it wasn't normal, that a child like her should hate having to live a life locked in a cupboard under the stairs being neglected by a family that should love you. But instead, she found it calming. It seemed isolation and her went well together.

In this tiny cupboard, Holly was in control. This was her domain, no matter how tiny or stuffy it was. Outside, on the other hand, was chaotic. Always at the mercy of the Dursley's. A servant instead of a niece and cousin. And when she was no longer needed, then it was back into the cupboard. Her presence erased from the rest of the house.

To her, the cupboard was her heaven and the outside was her hell. Today, was an even more chaotic day than usual as it was good old Diddykins birthday. She tried to forget about it, hoping that if she made no noise they would just forget about her. Sadly, luck was not on her side as signaled by the irritating knocking on her door.

"Wake up brat. Breakfast needs to be ready in five," Petunia's voice shrieked while unlocking the door for her.

The only time Holly was allowed out of her cupboard was a short list. Usually it was for her to go to school, to do the chores and use the bathroom (even then the bathroom time was limited and scheduled). Other times it was when the Dursley basically tossed her to their neighbor Mrs Figgs. Who, in her defense, was much nicer than the Dursley's. Despite her house house smelling like rotten cabbages and having awful tasting food. Not that Holly minded, she would eat anything. It wasn't like she got much food from the Dursley's in the first place. The cats were Holly's favorite thing at Mrs. Figgs, she enjoyed how soft they were. Yet, as she grew older, Holly slowly began to resent Mrs. Figgs. Despite the multitude of times Holly was forced to be there, never once did she pick up how awful her home life was. She merely ignored the fact how Holly was basically skin and bones. How pale she was, as if the sun barely touched her. Yet, if Mrs. Figgs ever picked up on those hints, she never dared questioned them or was extremely ignorant to the abuse that was happening only a couple houses away.

Other than that it was always back in the cupboard. Holly did believe she spent more time in there than the actual outside world or even the rest of the house.

Holly harshly bit her lip to stifle a groan. This is why she never gets her hopes up. Holly slammed the book she was reading ("The Hobbit", not one of her favorites but she still enjoys it nevertheless) and leaned over to the nearest clothing pile and blindly grabbed random pieces of clothing. Holly had a special hatred for the clothes that Petunia always forced her to wear. They made her itch like mad and were so constricting it was ridiculous. Holly lazily changed her clothes, brushing her unruly auburn hair out of her face not even bothering to attempt to deal with it. It isn't like her hair would obey her anyways. Readjusting her thick rimmed glasses, she pushed opened the door and walked down the hall and began her daily routine.

As she entered the kitchen, her gazed lingered on the table that was now covered entirely in presents that seemed to range from a new computer to a racing bike. Holly wasn't quite sure why Dudley would want such a thing, but she just assumed it was for bragging rights at school. Quickly she turned on the stove top.

One of Holly's regular chores was the cooking. So here she was, cooking breakfast for the oh so special birthday boy and his oh so loving family. Sometimes she thought of sneaking laxatives in the food. One time, she almost did before backing down. She could only have imagined the punishment for that, and in her mind it wouldn't be worth it.

The first Dursley that entered the kitchen was Mr. Vernon Dursley. He just took one look at Holly before barking at her to fix her hair. Sometimes she wanted to just shave her head, just to get him to shut his whale of a mouth. After all, no matter how many haircuts she got, it just kept growing back. For a second Holly paused while frying the eggs, wondering what would happen if she just shaved her head bald. Would her hair miraculously grow back like they time Petunia butchered her hair in effort to hide her scar? Or would being bald be the solution to her unruly hair problem?

Holly's train of thought was disrupted by the arrival of Dudley followed by his mother, Petunia.

Looking at the fried eggs and to the Dursley's, Holly decided it was quite easy for her to rate how favorable each individual Dursley was to her.

There is Dudley, her overweight cousin that probably was more pig than human with the intelligence leaning toward the swine side as well. When he was younger, Holly used to be his personal punching bag, which didn't really mean much since they were both six. As the years went by he had been slowly moving to taunts and jeers instead of physical violence. Holy believed that if he wanted to be remotely intimidating then he should have kept the physical violence. He was rather unskilled when it came to verbal abuse. Not that Holly was complaining. Out of the three Dursley, she hated him the least. From what Holly gather from the books she read in the library at school, odds are that this behavior was all learnt from his parents. The fact they indulge in everything he did just allowed the problems to increase allowed his belief that he could get away with anything, which was probably true. Plus witnessing how his parents treated Holly, he really didn't stand a chance. Sometimes she wondered if Vernon and Petunia Dursley were better parents to him, or perhaps he had a different set, that maybe he would have turned out to be a decent bloke.

Next was Mr. Vernon Dursley, the whale of the family and probably the main the dominant gene source for his son. To his credit, he mostly ignored her existence and rarely got physical with her, mostly using his words as a weapon. Unlike Dudley, he was a lot better with belittling Holly, yet after years living with the Dursley's the effect went away. The more physical aspect with Vernon Dursley was mostly manhandling and slapping. She mostly hated on he looked down at her and how high and mighty he viewed himself.

Then there was Mrs. Petunia Dursley, the woman named after the flower yet looked oddly like a horse. Holly always found it interesting how it was Petunia that hated her the most of the family. How it was Petunia that handled her punishments from beatings to minor starvation. How much hatred was shown in those cold blue eyes of her. Yet then you have the moments where she wouldn't be able to even look Holly in the eyes. Moments where there was some type of underlying sadness that would be gone in a split second. The moments that she treated Holly like a doll to dress up and torment. Tying her hair into tight pigtails for school, sometimes even buying her a book (until the next day when Petunia gets a change of heart and takes it away). Either way, Holly easily despised the woman the most due to the fact that Holly was never sure what version of Petunia she was going to get. Vernon and Dudley were predictable. Petunia, on the other hand, was not which made her all the more terrifying.

Her eyes focused back to the stove top as she checked on the bacon, even with the loud chattering coming from the three Dursley's. She made the mistake of being distracted once while she was going. That burn scar took several months to finally disappear. Robotically, Holly placed the eggs and bacon on the three dishes that she placed on the table. "Thirty-six," Dudley said, disappointed with an underlying anger in his voiced. "That's two less than last year!"

She watched as Petunia tried to calm the situation by correcting Dudley that it was thirty-seven not thirty-six. Holly watched as her cousin's face turned an alarming red, swiftly she picked up her plate and began to retreat back to her cupboard. It was much too early for her to witness and fully enjoy the infamous Dudley tantrum, a truly _legendary_ event in this household.

Sadly, Petunia intervened before Holly even made it out of the kitchen. In typical Dursley fashion, all she did was bribe him with two more presents and the fat monster subsided (After being told that it would thirty-nine presents by his doting mother).

Holly looked at the hallway and backed to the kitchen, weighing her options. Before she could truly decide whether or not to sneak out of the kitchen, Vernon already caught her and dragged her back. Forcing her to watch as Dudley opened each one of his thirty-seven presents.

While Holly was stuck in this unfortunate situation, nibbling on the bacon as Dudley ripped opened a gift that revealed to be a VCR, Petunia was talking on the phone. And from the tone of her voice, she was not pleased with whatever news she got.

That phone call was how Holly managed to hi-jacked Dudley's birthday party without even actually having to do anything. While Dudley tried his hardest to stop this dreadful news, at last no amount of crying and screaming was able to change the fact. Mrs. Figgs unfortunately broke her leg and there was no one to look after Holly. For Holly, she would preferred to stay at the house, allowing her more time to read and to loosen the locks on her cupboard door to make it easier to open at night. However, the trust the Dursley's had in her matched the trust she had in them. The only consolation she got in the situation was the Dursley's were miserable that she was stuck with them for the day. The fact she could easily use the situation to get some special treatment as well was bonus too. After all, one weakness the Dursley's had was the compulsion to keep up their perfect appearance to society.

The downside of this situation, other than the fact she was stuck with Dursley for the entire day, was that she was also stuck with one of Dudley's friends, Piers Polkiss. Piers was a scrawny boy whose face resembled of rat's. Piers was the boy in Dudley's gang who held whatever poor child down while Dudley or one of the other boys beat them up. Piers usually tried to get a hold on Holly during school, yet she always managed to avoid him.

Within the hour, Holly was sitting beside Dudley and Piers in the car, heading off to the zoo. Thankfully she got the window seat, while Piers was sandwich in the middle. Her eyes watching the world outside pass her by while the rest of the car was loud with chattered. Vernon's words repeating in her mind like a broken recorded.

* * *

"Don't do anything weird girl," he snarled at her as they headed to the car just an hour earlier, "Or you will be in the cupboard till Christmas." Holly just kept her gaze on the ground, feeling her back hunch forward as his face leaned down towards her. "

Well sir, it wouldn't be that much of a change now would it." She regretted the words as soon as they came out, but it was just great timing. Vernon harshly yanked her reddish brown hair so her face now was staring back at his growing purple one. Holly couldn't help but thought that he should probably go to the doctor's to get that checked out, purple seemed to be an unhealthy color for someone's skin. "I mean it," he hissed, dropping her curly hair and stormed towards the car.

* * *

Holly rarely meant for odd things to happen, especially when she knew it would get her a lengthy punishment. Whether it was from shrinking clothes, teleporting to different places as a method to escape. Odd things just happened to her. Of course, there were the times she managed to control whatever she could do for certain things. Like levitating small objects and unlocking the lock on her cupboard door so she could sneak out for food. After all, she had enough time to practice in the cupboard. She wasn't sure exactly what is was she could do, so she just called it the word that her family hated. Magic. The more she experimented with her gift, the more the word fitted what it was.

Within twenty minutes, they finally arrived to the zoo. The zoo was very crowded with a multitude of families there. Which made sense as it was an abnormally sunny day. As the day continued, Holly was glad she was dragged along. One of the best parts was when Vernon and Petunia were forced to buy her a rather delicious lemon ice pop since the ice cream lady offered one to Holly after Dudley and Piers got two large chocolate ice creams. Holly was able to tell that the ice cream lady only did it because she knew something was wrong with the picture she was seeing. Two adults favoring the heavy child and his friend while ignoring the ghostly white skeleton girl. Holly wondered if the lady would had said something, but she would never know as Petunia and Vernon dragged her off before anything could be said.

Other than that, she also managed to avoid being near the Dursley's and Piers throughout most of the day.

However, in the life of Holly Potter. Nothing good can last very long. That was just Holly's luck.

Near the end of the day, they ended up in the reptile house. At first Dudley and Piers were enthused to be in the section filled with dangerous reptiles. Yet, they had a change of attitude once they both realized that the snakes wouldn't performed for them when they wanted. No matter how hard they smashed their fists on the glass. Holly walked over to the large Brazilian boa constrictor that Dudley had just finished harassing. She looked at the snake, whose face wasn't even towards the glass window.

"I don't blame you. It must be quite boring living in there. Always on displayed for impatient kids," Holly muttered to herself, before reading the information plate located by the side of the glass. When she looked, she nearly stumbled back in surprise. The boa was now stretched up and looking towards her. Holly even thought that it was staring straight at her.

"Ohhh, so now you're awake," she said softly, slowly regaining her wits. That didn't last long when the snake nodded its head at her.

"You understand me?" Holly questioned and once again the snake nodded its scaly head. Holly's green eyes widen in fascination with the new information. Then, the fact that a snake answered her question registered completely in her mind, which nearly caused her to snort. Of course, a cold-blooded reptile would be polite enough to answer her question. But, the warm-blooded humans known as Dursley would screeched and throw a fit if she dared asked any type of question. Typical.

"How amazing," she smiled, "Can you speak too?"

"Yesssss," replied the snake. Holly bit her lip, nodding her head at the talking snake. She glanced around her, taking note of the locations of each Dursley and rat-faced Piers. When Holly saw that each individual was distracted by something, she went back to her new snake friend.

"Can anyone communicate with you?" Holly kept her voice as a whispered, trying her hardest to not draw attention.

The snake shook its head, "No, you are the firsssst,"

Holly blinked in shock, but smile at the information. Here she was, having a conversation with an actual snake and she was the only one who had.

"I'm sorry about my cousin. He was the one he was trying to break your glass for attention."

"Itssss okay. It would have been niccceee if he did." Holly tilted her head at the fact, before her eyes widen in realization.

"You grew up in captivity," she commented to herself. The snake nodded its head in agreement anyway.

"Were your parents also in captivity?"

"Sssssadly not. It wassss alwayssss me alone," the snake said as it slowly slithered towards the glass.

"I'm sorry," Holly said, a small frown on her face. "I grew without parents as well. Nasty car accident." She decided to leave out the fact that it was because her dad was drunk and was the reason that she was now an orphan. Even though she highly doubted the snake knew what alcohol and drunk driving was, she still refused to say it. Perhaps a part of her deep down refused to believe that it was the truth, after all why should she take Petunia's word for anything.

"It isssss okay. I'm jusssst glad to have company."

"Do you have a name?" Holly asked suddenly, realizing she never even asked the snake. She felt her cheeks flush in embarrassment, how rude she was. When the snake shook its head, she frowned.

"Well, that won't do. How about Spot?" The snake stared at her blankly, her green eyes reflecting in its black doll like eyes.

"Yesssss, Ssssspot would be nice." The snake curled up once again, with only its head poking out. Holly smiled widely, the snake-Spot- was toying with her.

"Spot, do you think they will ever return you Brazil? I heard it's a nice place to visit."

"I hope sssso child. I alwaysssss wanted to vissssit." Spots tail flickered to the picture on the sign.

Sadly, Holly was much too invested with her new friend, the snake now named Spot, to noticed a witness to this conversation until the loud voice behind her causing her to jump in fright. "DUDLEY! MR DURSLEY! COME LOOK AT THE SNAKE!" Piers screeched.

After that, everything happened so quickly. Dudley was waddling as fast as he could and threw Holly to the ground and took up the space she once occupied. All of the sudden, right when Dudley was about to pound on the glass again, the glass just vanished causing Dudley to fall in.

During the screaming that followed, Spot the boa constrictor slithered out of its exhibit and towards the fallen Holly, who was clutching her now bruised ribbed cage. Spot slithered up her torso and gave her a nod before heading towards the exit.

"Thankssss child. Brazil, here I come. I hope we meet again my friend," Spot said.

Holly just stared forward gobsmacked, the screaming preventing her to think everything through properly. Petunia and Vernon were hovering over a drenched Dudley who was now crying his heart out, leaving Holly ignored on the ground. Holly prayed to whatever god or gods that were up there that she would get out this situation, that Petunia's and Vernon's concern over their son would occupy them completely.

Then she remembered that she was Holly Potter, and Lady Luck for some reason hated her. All she could do was watched helplessly on the tiled floor as Piers signed her death sentence. "Holly, that snake was face to face with you," Piers said in shock, "You were talking to it weren't you?"

Yup, she was dead. She hoped that she would be able to pick her headstone epitaph before she left this plane of existence. She was thinking: "Holly Potter, died how she lived. Miserable, bored, and unamused". A little rough, Holly would admit. Despite the fact she would be dead today, at least Dudley was somewhat miserable at the end. Even if she didn't mean for any of this to happen.

When the Dursley's arrived home after dropping Piers off at his house, Petunia gripped her harm harshly, her nails craving into Holly's flesh, as she yanked Holly through the house. "Let go of me!" Holly yelled, trying to free herself from Petunia's iron grip to no avail. Petunia wrenched open Holly's cupboard door and shoved the auburn hair girl inside. As Holly immediately started rubbing her now throbbing arm, Petunia slammed the door shut and swiftly locked the door. "No supper for the rest of the school year," Petunia hissed with cold anger and stalked off.

Holly just sat pathetically in his dark cupboard, allowing herself to process everything that just happened. She gripped her hair harshly as she felt tears run down her face. Stop crying, stop crying, she chanted in her head. Don't give them power over you. Don't-don't. Holly grabbed her pillow and screamed and sobbed in it. She felt like a pathetic little baby, but today she allowed herself that.

It wasn't fair, it wasn't her fault.

She wished her parents were here.

* * *

 _ **Well, I did say I was going to write a fem!Harry story, and here I am. While this seems to be following the original storyline at first, but when it good old Holly arrives at Hogwarts everything is up in the air. Canon divergence will happen, after all Holly is a much different person than Harry. Sorry for any grammar/typos.**_


	2. Chapter 2

When good old horse-like Petunia said no supper for the rest of the school year, Holly thought she meant no supper for the rest of the school year. Yet, here she was on day five, and it seemed that no supper actually translated to no meals in general. Holly couldn't tell if it was on purpose or they just forgotten she existed, which is understandable. Holly wasn't known to make her herself known when dealing with the Dursley. With the Dursley, it was best to be known when needed. No need to get in more trouble by reminding them of her existence.

They didn't even let her out to do any chores. Normally, she would have been ecstatic by that. But, now she is extremely hungry and ran out of reading material. Holly, for the first time, wished she could slave about on the house. At least then she would have something to do.

Now she was sitting on her bed, glaring at her door. Her stomach let out a monstrous groan. Holly, preferring not to be accidently starved to death, decided she would once again have to play "B and E", also known as breaking and entering. While technically she would be breaking out of her room and entering the kitchen for food, not actually breaking into someone's house. Though, one could consider it the same thing.

Holly made up this game the first time she gotten a no meals punishment. Seven-year-old Holly might have, somehow, accidently removed all of Petunia's blonde hair when she tried to force her to wear this ugly mustard yellow dress for picture day. Holly never seen her look so mad. Holly ended up with an awfully bruised back and thighs while being sentenced no meals for two weeks. Holly remember how one night she was unable to sleep due to the pains coming from her stomach, then she heard the door unlock and slowly creep opened. Curiously she inched closer and poked her head out. Not wasting the opportunity, she snuck into the kitchen and grabbed any food that would easily be glossed over. When she was done, Holly would creep back into her room and silently closed the door (which would somehow always be locked in the morning).

Now, at ten, Holly relied on her hidden stash of paper clips to pick her way out. The last time she tried to use her tricks to unlock door the way she did when she was seven was the day after Halloween. Holly was planning on smuggling some of Dudley's candy for a much better cause than to be eaten by someone who had no need for junk food. Sadly, it ended up backfiring big time. Blew up the door knob instead. This incident also added another obstacle of a newly added door chain lock.

However, it seemed the Dursley's underestimated Holly, just the way she liked it. She had already fashioned the ultimate lock pick, which was several paper clips connected with a hand-made paper clip hook at the end.

So, on the night of the fifth day of her punishment, she put her plan in action. One of the benefits of her living situation was the fact she was able to tell if any movement is going on upstairs (though the heavy weight of both Vernon and Dudley helped). When she was sure that the three of them were asleep, she began to the lock picking portion of her amazing plan.

While the lock picking was extremely time consuming, Holly couldn't complain. Better taking ten to twenty minutes picking two locks for food than pathetically starving to death in a dusty cupboard.

Once the both the door knob and door chain were unlocked, Holly carefully pulled up on the door knob and quietly opened the door. Next, she crept towards the kitchen, taking note to each section of the floor to avoid the creaking areas. Once she James Bond her way to the kitchen, she carefully opened the kitchen cabinet that held a wide variety of canned food. Silently she shifted to the far back and grabbed any of the cans that the Dursley wouldn't realize were missing. Once she believed she grabbed enough, Holy scooped up the cans and slowly shut the cabinet door.

Holly wrapped the cans within her shirt as she took a plastic fork that Petunia kept in the utensils drawer then rushed back to the safety of her cupboard.

Holly placed the cans on her bed and turned her focus on relocking her door. Another downside of not using her special tricks. While relocking the door knob was fine, trying to relock the door chain was nearly impossible. Holly would have given up, but the fear of knowing what would happen when the Dursley put two and two together. Well, that was motivation enough.

For the rest of her punishment, she did not go hungry.

When she was finally allowed outside of her room, school had ended. Holly was planning on smuggling the large number of stolen books back, but I guessed they were hers now.

Apparently, Dudley was going to a place call Smeltings, Vernon's old private school, and they had these sticks that you beat other children up with? Holly wasn't sure if that was correct since it seemed like that rule would be against the law and common sense, then again what should she know. She was the "disappointment that lived in the cupboard" after all. She couldn't help but be glad by that title. Being a disappointment on the Dursley standard had to be a good thing. However, if that was true, it would explain a lot about Vernon and his anger issues.

The only reason she thought she could possibly be wrong about beating the tar out of classmates was because anytime the Dursley's talked she usually ended up daydreaming. In her defense, who could blame her. It wasn't like they talked about anything interesting. Holly did overhear that she would be attending a public school, Stonewall High, which according the Dudley was hilarious. She wasn't sure why that was so funny, it was just a school after all.

The summer was going quite well after the ending of her punishment. She got to stay with Mrs. Figgs again when the Dursley went to go shopping for Dudley's new uniform and wack-a-mole stick. The food was stale, but she got to watch some television. Beggars can't be choosers.

When Holly saw Dudley's new uniform, she almost had to go back into the cupboard to laugh in peace. It was an unflattering maroon tailcoat that clashed with the bright orange knickerbockers. The outfit was completed with a straw hat and the stick Holly heard about. Knobbly stick. What a stupid name. Meanwhile, Holly's uniformed was going to be all her shirts dyed grey. She managed to walk into Petunia dyeing them, claiming how "It'll look like everyone else's after I'm finished" with her snooty tone. Holly decided to leave it at that and walk away.

Holly was minding her own business after her encountered with Petunia. Sitting at the dining table and rereading a disguised _Howl's Moving Castle_ , since she figured she would get a beating for reading something that involved the absolutely dreaded m-word. Honestly, Holly took it as a challenged, after all trying to censor something just made her even more curious.

However, this boring summer day got a lot more interesting when the mail arrived. Yes, the mail. Dudley was beating the house with his new stick and Vernon was reading the newspaper. That is when they heard the click of the mail slot.

Holly, being the designated slave of the household tucked her book underneath her arm and headed towards the door to get the mail. There on the doormat were scattered letters of things she couldn't care about. Except for one envelope. One thick and yellowish envelope had her name of it. When she grabbed the letter to get a better look, it said:

Miss H. Potter

The Cupboard under the Stairs

4 Privet Drive

Little Whinging

Surrey

Holly glanced at the end of the hallway, making sure she wasn't being noticed and slid the letter addressed to her into her cupboard. She had a sneaking suspicion that the Dursley wouldn't take the fact that someone knew her exact location well. Plus, the letter was addressed to her. The information was meant for her, not them.

With that she walked back to the kitchen and handed out the letters, making sure no discernible emotion was on her face. No one was the wiser.

That night Holly was back in her cupboard, the letter addressed to her of all people in her hands. She lightly traced over the green ink that said her name and her cupboard, curiosity bubbling within her. A letter...for her. A concept that never crossed Holly's mind once in her entire life. She had no friends, no extended family that liked her enough to write her. Holly surprised herself a bit for caring even a little for this letter, yet this whole event was not abnormal and foreign to Holly that she couldn't help but be intrigued.

She flipped the letter, looking at the fancy waxed seal. The purple seal was a fancy looking H being surround by four animals: a lion, a snake, an eagle, and a badger. Interesting choice of animals she mused. Holly wondered who would actually take the time out of their day to write to her. More importantly, how did they find out about her cupboard.

Quickly, she tore open the envelope and removed the letter from inside. Her curiosity and slight amusement of the thought that someone knew enough information on her to write to her faded into confusion as she read the letter, which said:

HOGWARTS SCHOOL _of_ WITCHCRAFT _and_ WIZARDRY

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore

 _(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,_

 _Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)_

Dear Ms. Potter,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress

HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY

UNIFORM

First-year students will require:

1\. Three sets of plain work robes (black)

2\. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear

3\. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)

4\. One winter cloak (black, with silver fastenings)

Please note that all pupil's clothes should carry name tags.

COURSE BOOKS

All students should have a copy of each of the following:

 _The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1)_

 _by Miranda Goshawk_

 _A History of Magic_

 _by Bathilda Bagshot_

 _Magical Theory_

 _by Adalbert Waffling_

 _A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration_

 _by Emeric Switch_

 _One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi_

 _by Phyllida Spore_

 _Magical Drafts and Potions_

 _by Arsenius Jigger_

 _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them_

 _by Newt Scamander_

 _The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection_

 _by Quentin Trimble_

OTHER EQUIPMENT

1 wand

1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)

1 set glass or crystal phials

1 telescope

1 set brass scales

Students may also bring, if they desire, an owl OR a cat OR a toad.

PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS

ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICK

Yours sincerely,

Lucinda Thomsonicle-Pocus

Chief Attendant of Witchcraft Provisions

Holly stared at the letter in bewilderment. She went into opening this letter with no expectations, and she was still disappointed. A magic school? Named Hogwarts? Holly scoffed, crumpling the letter into a ball and throwing it as far away from her. This had to be a joke, and she refused to play along with it.

Even if it was a well-executed prank, she was glad the Dursley's didn't find out about it. Just seeing the world "magic" would have given them a brain aneurysm. Hmm, maybe she should have let them read it in that case.

Her mind switched from the image of the Dursley's reaction to reading the letter to the letter itself. Her mind automatically went to Dudley as the culprit of the prank. After all, the amount of trouble she would have been in if Petunia and Vernon saw this letter would have been the greatest thing for him to witness.

However, the amount of effort and creativity that went into the letter was suspect. After all, they had to get an intricate design for the wax seal, hell they had to get a waxed seal. Also, the names of the books and authors had to take some imagination. This quickly removed Dudley as the culprit. Holly doubted that he had a creative bone in his body. The amount of detail also made her waver slightly on the prank theory, especially considering the address on the envelope.

After all, who else knew that she lived in the cupboard underneath the stairs? She was pretty sure that Petunia and Vernon forbid Dudley from telling anyone about her living conditions (she remember vividly Dudley crying when Vernon punished him when he almost let it slip to his friend. Petunia was furious) and Holly only told one person, her teacher back when she was six. Nothing came of it though, she was a troublesome child and her teacher merely assumed she wanted attention. After all, how could the amazing and loving Dursley do anything like that.

A magic school called Hogwarts. Holly was positive she wasn't magical. Well, she never considered herself magical. A freak and the Dursley disappointment? Yes, and proudly too, but magic wasn't real. If anything, she was a self-declared mutant, not a witch.

With a sigh she leaned forward to grab the paper ball and unraveled it. Holly reread the letter once again, trying to make sense of it. This had to be a joke. Someone must've found out about the cupboard, somehow, and decided to prank her. After all, nothing amazingly good ever happens to Holly. It just doesn't happen.

Holly wasn't special. She wasn't a witch or anything in that nature. She was the unwanted burden on her aunt and uncle. She was the girl who would never become anything important, or special, or anything really, she of all people should know. She was just the girl who lived in her tiny cupboard underneath the stairs. The girl who read book after book. Just the small and skinny girl who spends her nights awake imagining different and better worlds to be a part of. This letter was a lie, it...it had to be. Honestly, she should just throw it away. Rip the thing to shreds. But, she didn't.

She merely hid the letter underneath her bed, despite her negativity to the thing. Just for curiosity sake.

The next day came and Holly made sure the letter was securely hidden underneath her mattress before heading out to cook breakfast.

As she cooked the bacon, Holly tried to ignore the any thoughts of the letter. Yet, she kept picturing the way her named was elegantly spelled on the envelope, the detail of this Minerva's signature. The fact they needed a response via owl. Now, why would someone do this is the biggest question. It isn't a well thought out prank in any case. Unless said person was trying to get her in trouble with the Dursley, which that letter would have certainly done.

The smell of burning bacon and the warmth of flames pulled her out of thoughts. The bacon and the pan were on fire. Whoops. Holly, ignoring the shrieking and sputtering from Petunia, quickly grabbed a dish towel, ran water under it, and then placed it on top of the fire.

"You brat!" Petunia shrieked, gripping Holly's upper arm. Great, one bruised leaves for another to form.

"What were you trying to do? Burn down the house and kill us all?" Petunia continued, shoving Holly towards the kitchen table. Holly merely glared at the ground, not trusting herself to say anything. She would be lying if she claimed those thoughts haven't crossed her mind. Maybe not kill, but she wouldn't mind them suffering a bit, so maybe they could feel how she felt.

"Look at me when I'm talking to you girl!" Petunia's voice seemed to raise an octave. Holly, gnawing on her lip, did just that. Holly could have sworn she saw something flash in Petunia's blue eyes. She wasn't sure what it was, but after that emotion left her eyes Petunia faltered.

"Just...Just go." When she said that, Holly wasted no time booking it, nearly tripping over Vernon's extended leg. She headed straight to the front door. She needed air, to feel the wind blowing through her hair and making it a tangled messed. Usually she would have just hidden herself away in her cupboard, but the letter was in there and that was the last thing she wanted to think about right now.

As she approached the door she noticed more letters on the doormat, which was odd as she felt she would have heard click of the mailbox like before. Unlike the day before where Holly got one letter, today she had ten. Ten of those thick yellow envelopes splattered around the mat. Each one sharing identical green ink that spelled her name just like the first one.

Scoping the letters up, she carried them into her cupboard and hastily shoved them under her bed. Holly left as quickly as she entered, locking the door behind her and rushed outside. There in the surrounding trees were owls of all different types. The oddest thing was that they were just staring at the Dursley house, not moving.

Holly crept towards them and still they did not move. As she processed this odd situation, Holly began to shift her opinion of those letters being a joke. She tried to wave the birds away, but instead of flying off they just looked at her. They even looked unimpressed by her efforts.

Letting out an irritable groan, Holly walked back inside and into her cupboard to read and compare each new letter she got. She wondered how long it would take the Dursley's to notice the swarm of owls outside their house. The sentence "We await your Owl by July 31st" burned into her mind.

Maybe the owls would stick around for the night.

* * *

 _ **Wow, did not expect this story to get that many favorites and follows. Here is good old chapter two and I apologize for any typos and grammatical mistakes, I just started writing and couldn't stop. I was wondering what house do you think Holly will get sorted into? You may answer or you may not answer it. Hope you guys have a great thanksgiving break (for those in the US). Hopefully, we can have a week without anything too awful happening.**_


	3. Chapter 3

Once again Holly, snuck out of her cupboard with the "Hogwarts" letter as well as the thick envelope that which it was contained in with her. She silently walked towards the nearest window, peering outside for any sign of the owls from earlier. For once, it seemed Lady Luck had taken pity on her as in the trees were the same owls from the morning. Only their wide eyes could be seen in the dark of night. As silently as possible she opened the window, catching the attention of one of the owls. The owl flew to the window still, it's wide dark brown eyes watching Holly's every movement.

Holly held up a finger in hopes the bird would understand the meaning. If they are messenger birds, they should be intelligent enough. She crept towards the kitchen and grabbed the first pen she saw. She rushed back to the living room and knelt by the coffee table. Glancing up, Holly made sure no one was up and moving about. Once Holly believed the coast was clear, she focused back onto the letter.

In a rush she began to write her reply on the back, after all if they wanted a reply by owl, then they will get a reply by owl.

She quickly wrote:

 _Dear Whoever,_

 _Im not sure if you'll get this, after all I never heard of a messenger owl. So hopefully the owls are reliable. I must say I'm slightly impressed. Eleven highly detailed letters within two days. Plus the owls, well that was flashy I must say. However, while this prank is very impressi_

Holly paused, and started to gnaw on her lip. Swiftly she crossed everything out. She tapped her fingers on the table before starting once again.

 _Okay, you know what. Ignore that. Can you guys just Not? Go bug someone else or be productive with something useful or just. Things that don't involved trying to get a ten year old girl in trouble. Seriously. Plus the whole thing with the owls. Impressive yet equally horrifying. Plus they were a giant sore eye. Not that Im complaining, Petunia looked like she was going to have a heart attack when she noticed them._

 _Anyways, I'm not sure what this whole Hogwarts (what name is Hogwarts anyway) is or is about but just stop while you're ahead and bother someone else. Preferably Dudley, 'cos that would be amusing. I prefer to not be in trouble for something I didn't even do. However, if you are kidnappers...I may co_ nsider your offer.

 _Holly Potter_

When she was finished, Holly reread her response. She glanced at the crossed-out words before shrugging. There was no time to rewrite the letter, this was a big enough risk already. Holly did end up scratching out the last part just to be safe. She hates living here, but she would hope the Dursley's would be better than kidnappers. Holly then wrote a sloppy HOGWARTS on the top of paper. She rolled the paper up and tossed it to the owl, which grasped on to it with its talons and flew off in the night.

As she watched the bird fly off she glanced at the envelope in her hand before silently groaning. She completely forgotten to put the letter in the envelope. Why else would she bring it out? She shook her hand angrily, resisting the urge to smack herself in the face. Holly always had attention problems, sadly this was one of the times where it really bit her hard.

Holly was only able to curse herself for a moment before she became aware of the stomping down the stairs.

Thank God the owl left when it did since she turned to see a very angry Vernon in the hallway.

"You brat!" he hissed, rushing towards her. "What are you doing out here?"

Holly blinked slowly at him, moving backwards ever so slightly. Her mind was racing, trying to figure out the best way possible to get out of the situation with maybe a bruise and a lighter punishment. It seemed he didn't see owl leave nor did he yet see letter or note. She could work with that. Sort of.

"I was hungry," Holly lied smoothly, attempting to block out the fear rising in her chest. Vernon yanked her shoulder harshly, causing Holly to yelp in pain.

"Don't play dumb with me freak." Vernon's shoved his reddening face near Holly's. Before she could do anything, Vernon's eyes focused on the slightly hidden envelope. Holly cursed herself mentally on being so stupid to not hide the blasted envelope. The only solace she had was the envelope was empty and the waxed seal was facing the opposite direction. "Now, what envelope are you holding?" his voice was shaking anger. Holly inhaled sharply, she forgot to hide the envelope. And she always thought she was smart.

Holly shut her eyes tightly to resist flinching at the question, gripping the yellow envelope as hard as she could. Her short nails digging into the broken seal, trying to disfigure the design.

"I have no idea what you're talking about. I just came out for food and saw this envelope already unsealed...and I was going to...make origami with it," Holly replied slowly, spitting the lie out awkwardly. She knew that she would get in trouble either way, but she felt sneaking food and doing...origami would be the lesser of two evils. God of all the things she could have come up with, she went with origami.

Sadly, yet not unsurprisingly, judging by Vernon's sneering face, he did not believe her. He grabbed her arm, ripping the envelope out of her hand. He angrily waddled back to the hallway, shoving Holly with him. Vernon held the empty envelope up high preventing Holly from trying to reclaim it.

Holly had to bite her lip from making any noise that would show her discomfort. She felt that if he squeezed her shoulder a little harder that it would eventually shatter.

"Petunia!" Vernon yelled from below the stairs. Holly tried to weasel her way out of his grip to flee to the cupboard, but it was to no avail.

She hopelessly heard Petunia's light footsteps run to the staircase. Dread slowly mixing with fear.

When Petunia joined them in the hallway, she looked at the scene in shock and confusion.

"How did you get out of your cupboard brat?" Petunia demanded, but Holly couldn't bring herself to speak. She could tell how this was going to play out, and she really hated the outcome. In dread she watched Petunia's eyes focused on the envelope Vernon was holding up. Quickly she snatched it up. Her blue eyes widen in horror and anger as she looked upon the purple wax seal that was still mostly intact despite the small indents from Holly's nails.

"When did you get this envelope," Petunia demanded, speed walking toward her husband and Holly. She gripped both of Holly's shoulder blades, her nails digging into Holly's skin. Holly let out a small yelp.

"Why does it matter, it was addressed to me," Holly gritted through her teeth, her eyes starting to water. Her face grimacing in pain and Petunia's and Vernon's grip on her tighten.

"The owls…It was them," Petunia muttered out loud. She grew pale and looked up at her husband. "Oh Vernon, what will we do," she cried out, leaving Holly forgotten.

Holly now free from both their grasp watched in confusion as they blocked her only way to safety, too busy conversing in frantic whispers. She slowly turned her head towards the front door. Slowly she edged herself closer to the door, but kept her eyes on Petunia and Vernon.

Holly only was able to catch the words "owls", "letters", "freaks", and "response", before their attention back to her forcing her to abandoned that escape plan.

"You were playing with an owl, weren't you?" Vernon sneered. Holly nearly winced. How did he, of all people figure it out. Unless dear old Petunia knew more than she let out. Vernon didn't even wait for Holly's response. Everyone in the hallway knew what the answer was. "You have one chance now girl. Where is the letter?" Petunia flinched, and her face turned abnormally pale before twisting into an ugly sneered.

Holly just looked at the ground and silent resistance. She heard her heart pounding in her chest and felt the blood pulsing in her ears.

Vernon shoved Holly to the opposite wall. He harshly yanked up the cupboard door and began to rip her room apart. Petunia merely stood by the staircase, watching the sight.

Holly hastily stood up and rushed forward, while leaving the house would be the smartest thing she could do she couldn't allow her little space being ruin as well as the other letters that she had hidden. Her room, her little domain of peace, destroyed and tainted. She felt tears flow down her face as she watched Vernon break her shelves and destroy her books. Holly tried to leap towards him when he began snapping her lockpick collection but was held back by Petunia, who had twisted Holly's arm.

"Stop it you stupid, ugly whale," Holly screamed in anger. Her face turning a blotchy red color from her tears.

Holly's worst nightmare came true when she saw Vernon's eyes lit up when he noticed a corner of a similar but thick yellow envelope that crept out underneath her mattress from the commotion he caused.

"Ah, Petunia," he crooned gleefully, "Look what we have here."

Suddenly, right when Vernon was about to grab the thick envelope, the mattress caught aflame.

Vernon yelled out in pain and shock and Petunia released her grip on Holly's arm to panicky rush into the kitchen for water.

Holly just stood there in the hallway, her face still wet from tears. Her eyes just stared at the growing flame blankly. She did what she had to do. Honestly, she didn't even feel bad about it.

Everything when into a haze and Holly just stared at the chaos she created. Ignoring the world around her. Not hearing Dudley rush down the stairs in confusion not Vernon rushing out of the cupboard with his hand raw. Barely even noticing a frantic Aunt Petunia tossing buckets of water of the flame that refused to go out. She just stared blankly at the fire. How it only stayed on one location, not touching the surrounding wood of her cupboard. How the yellow envelopes curled away from the flame and turned to ash.

She was smacked back to reality by the pain of Vernon grabbing onto her shoulders, shaking her back and forth while yelling at her at the same time.

A sense of powerlessness and pure devastation crept into Holly as everything thing she actually liked crumbled. Her safety was gone and tainted, her lockpicks that she worked so hard on, but she couldn't bring herself to care. Right now, she was just so tired. She just wanted to sleep and escape the world, especially the angry walrus who was yelling at her and trying to snap her arms.

So that's was what she did.

Her punishment for that night's catastrophe was the most severe one she ever faced. Several harsh beatings then being confined in a torn up and slightly burnt cupboard. This time with no mattress, no books, no lockpicks, and of course no meals. All for an undetermined amount of time as Petunia and Vernon were too angry to give a date.

Holly just accepted her fate, she couldn't care. She knew the risk of what she did, now she had to accept the punishment. It was her fault after all. It was always her fault. So, it makes sense they would punish her. They never asked for her or anything. Always her fault.

She was unable to sneak out and she swore she was going mad in there with the lack of things to do. Holly's only relief was day dreaming and even then, that can get her so far.

All she did was lay on the burnt ground where her mattress used to be and stare upwards. It came to the point she didn't know whether it was day or night. Or what day it was in the first place. The only indicator was the movement of the other three people who lived here, yet even then it all still became a blur.

Eventually she began to feel the effects of her hunger. The strong pains and the never-ending rumbling from her stomach. She still refused to move.

Holly sometimes wondered if it was still even July, but she never did ponder on it for long. She just could never bring herself to really care. Was it her birthday? Who cares, it doesn't matter. Nobody ever cared enough to even remember it, sometimes she barely did herself.

One day something new happened. Vernon added more locks to her cupboard. Holly guessed he didn't enjoy the fact that they underestimated the freak, and that said freak managed to outsmart their family for who knows how long.

She sometimes heard other things happening near her cupboard that she could never figure out what it was. Holly assumed it was traps. She wouldn't be surprised if it was. If her assumption was correct, then Vernon probably did it just in case she managed to get out. For once, Holly would admit that was an actually intelligent thing to do. Perhaps she underestimated them as well.

As the days passed by, Holly's mind slowly began to numb down. Any curious thought slowly dwindled away, all being replace with more apathy than usual.

However, all this starvation and misery came to a complete stop on a certain day in late July.

Holly was still being punished in her cupboard while the Dursley's enjoyed a freak free summer. Now with hundred percent less arson and other incidents. That was until the pounding on the front door started. It was so loud, it sounded like the doors were nearly getting knocked off their hinges.

Usually, Holly would be up and already towards her door, trying to get a peak on what this could mean. Now, she just felt apathy as she kept staring blankly at the ceiling.

Next thing she heard was someone (probably Vernon judging by the footsteps) opening the door, which ended up slamming open into the wall. There was only a small moment of silence from the shock before a loud and furious "DURSLEY'S!" filled the house followed by an odd strangle like noise from the whale known as Vernon Dursley.

* * *

 _ **Whelp, that took longer than I thought. Sadly, it is shorter than I was hoping, but the next chapter will probably be longer. Here starts the beginning of the canon divergence. I hope you all enjoy this chapter and if you guys have any constructive criticisms or comments, don't be afraid to leave them. Sorry for any grammatical and/or spelling errors.**_


	4. Chapter 4

Holly laid still, the tense silence from outside her cupboard seemed to be leaking in. "Where is she!" the unknown man demanded, anger clearly displayed in his tone.

"Wha-what in the bloody hell-" Holly heard Uncle Vernon spluttered out. She could basically see his face turning an alarming shade of red.

"Holly Potter yeh great lump," the loud voice spoke out again.

"We have no clue who are talking about," Petunia's shrill voice rung out.

"Yer lyin'. I dropped 'er on yer doorstep on Dumbledore's order," the man voice responded, his voice rising in anger with each word.

Holly blinked in surprise when the name Dumbledore's name was spoken. Her mind raced to the mysterious letter that had been addressed to her and the response she had replied with. Did that actually work?

"Don't you dare say that old-" Vernon began to spit out before a knock came from inside the dainty cupboard underneath the stairs. Silence completely took over the atmosphere as everyone registered the noise and the implication of it. Holly couldn't explain the reason why she decided to knock on the door, signaling her presence to the adults on the other side. One could say it was hope, but Holly would disagree. If anything it was out of mild curiosity to see what the stranger would end up doing. After all, if her deductions were correct, this strange man was somehow related to that letter.

"DURSLEY," the man roared once again, his voice so loud it could've shaken the house to its foundations. Holly heard a pair of loud footsteps walk to her cupboard door.

"I-I demand you to leave this house this instant," Vernon's voice demanded. Holly, noticing a shadow from underneath the door. What was that whale of a man planning to do?

"Out o' me way Dursley," the man said. The next thing Holly heard was a loud slam on the ground followed by a high pitched "Vernon". Slowly Holly began backing up to the further corner. Fear began growing in her stomach as she heard a light tap on the door. Suddenly her door burst opened, the sudden burst of light blinded Holly as she quickly curled up into a ball.

"Holly?" the stranger asked, uncertainty clear in his tone. "Is tha' yeh?"

The world felt as if it stood still, the only thing Holly was aware of was her own quick shallow breaths. Her body began to tremble as she heard the creaking of the wooden boards and walls.

"Holly, yeh don't have to be 'fraid of me." His voice was much calmer now. Holly would even say it was warm and kind. Kind enough for her to raise her head and stare wide-eyed at the giant man. Pushing up her glasses, she took in the scene in front of her. The cupboard door was now broken off its hinges and replacing it was a large man with wild curly black hair and thick matching beard. His eyes reminded her of beetles yet his face held a certain type of warmth. His hands looked rough and calloused as he gripped the side of the door, crushing the wall.

"Yeh can come out now. I won't let them hurt you," the man said. Hesitantly, Holly got up and slowly edged her way out of the cupboard. There she saw Vernon on the ground next to Petunia and Dudley, the latter two huddling behind him. She watched the giant man, who must have been 3 meters tall, took in her appearance. His rough face growing redder and redder in anger. He reminded her of a kettle steaming to its breaking point. She guessed that the would be the most normal response to seeing a skeleton child coming out of the closest looking far worse for wear.

The dark haired man whipped around and faced the Dursley's, pointing his umbrella at them. Before anything could happen, Hoy decided to speak up. "Who are you?" she asked, her voice husky from lack of use, "How do you know who I am?"

Her voice caught the man's attention and he quickly lowered his umbrella and turned back towards her. Holly couldn't really care what this strange man was going to do to them. She just wanted answers. "Oh yeh poor girl," he sobbed out, making Holly flinched back in surprise. "Oh yeh look just like yer mother."

Holly couldn't help but frown at this statement. No answers and only more questions.

"You knew my mum?" Holly questioned, her eyes darting back and forth from the heavyset man to her aunt.

"And yer father as well," he responded. Before Holly could push the matter further, Vernon was back on his feet, his face turning an ugly shade red.

"I forbid you from saying anything more!" he yelled, surging forward. The stranger spun around, his umbrella nearly stabbing Vernon in the eye.

"Ay? And wha' is a large old muggle like you going to do about it?"

Petunia let out a small gasp and grabbed her husband's shoulder. "Yer're the most disgusting lot of muggles I ever laid me eyes on," he snarled.

"What's a muggle?" Holly asked, ignoring the growing tension in the room. The man's anger subsided for a bit as he lowered his umbrella once again. This man's mood swings should have raised a red flag in her mind, yet she really couldn't bring herself to care. This was the most interesting thing that has happened to her that hasn't led to a beating...well yet.

"Their non-magic folk. And sadly yeh got stuck with the worst lot of muggles." the man said.

"Magic folk? Is that what I am able to do? Magic?"

Despite the situation at hand, the man gave her a warm smile.

"Ay. Yer a witch Holly. Just like yer mum and yer dad. Some of the most talented ones at tha'."

Holly just blinked at the news and then lightly shrugged. Might as well end up being a witch, of course, she would be a freak like that. Slowly her mind started reeling. As she begun to connect the dots of her aunt's and her family's behavior towards her. Her frown twisted into a sneer as she turned towards her "family".

"You knew," Holly whispered, memories of her punishments fluttering in her mind. Every beating, every week of being starved for something that they known she couldn't control. "You knew my mum and dad were magic. You knew what I was doing," her voice began raising in octave as her anger grew.

"Knew?" Petunia squawked, "Of course I knew. How could I not as she pranced around turning teacups into toads," she sneered. "Then she went to that school filled with freaks just like her, and even worst she married one of them and got herself blown up. Getting us stuck with you."

"Blown up? You said they died in a car accident," Holly snapped, her body shaking.

"CAR ACCIDENT?" he roared, turning once again towards the three Dursleys. He jammed his umbrella in Vernon's fat cheek, slowly moving towards them. Soon all three were squashed onto the wall, with Vernon shielding his wife and son. "AS IF A CAR ACCIDENT COULD KILL JAMES AND LILY POTTER," he roared.

If she wasn't shaking in anger Holly would've felt pity for the man as he looked like he was about to have an aneurysm. Before the large man could do anything else the windows shattered completely. Glass shards flying, cutting up the Dursleys. Holly just kept staring at them, anger from over all these years slowly seeping out. Her trance was broken however when a large calloused hand touched her shoulder. She tilted her head towards the foreign touch. The man's dirty palm easily gripping her entire shoulder blade.

"Ay tha' is enough. No need to get in trouble. Even though they deserve it." His voice was soft. Once again silence greeted the house. The Dursley's unable to speak a word after the events just transpired. Finally, they managed to shut up for once.

"Can we leave?" she whispered to him, her voice breaking slightly. Tears starting to run down her face. Holly wasn't sure why she was crying, she wasn't sure of a lot of things right now. All she knew was the numb feeling inside her and that this man, whoever he was, knew and liked her parents. And right now, that was enough for her. She wasn't sure how she felt when she saw him look down at her in pity, but it didn't matter as he opened his palm up for her. She gripped his hand, her pale boney fingers looking like sticks compared to his meaty hands.

"O'course I will Holly." And with that he lead her out of her prison and for the first time in her life, Holly felt liberated.

* * *

They arrived in London via flying motorcycle after the stranger sent out a letter via owl. It must of been a magic folk thing to do. It was a quiet ride, very sober for one of the best moments in her life. Yet the dread of her bad luck stuck with her as she got lost in her thoughts. It was probably unwise of her to go off with a stranger, especially one whose name is still unknown to her. Yet, she couldn't spend another moment with her family so she took the risk to trust him. The fact he threaten Vernon helped make her decision easier. However, the silence that followed them quickly became uncomfortable as they sat in the back of the Leaky Caldron. With him staring at her like he was either going to give her a bear hug or start sobbing while she stared at the table like it was the most interesting thing she had ever seen while picking her nails.

Millions of questions raced through her mind, yet every time she opened her mouth she was unable to vocalize a sound. She lifted her head and stared at his dark eyes. The caring look he gave her made her uncomfortable in all honesty.

"What is your name?" Holly managed to choke out. The hairy man blinked in surprise at her abrupt question before letting out a hearty laugh.

"My bad Holly, guess I got distracted. My name is Hagrid. Keeper of Keys an' Grounds at Hogwarts." Hagrid puffed up his chest in pride.

Holly gave him a blank look and just slowly nodded her head. Hagrid must have figured out her confusion because he continued, "I forgot. Those muggles-" he shook his head angrily, "I'm sorry Holly. Professor Dumbledore gave them a letter explaining everythin'. If we had known…" Hagrid trailed off, his eyes taking in her scrawny form and thin curly hair. Holly shifted her eyes back to the table, glaring daggers at it at the mention of her aunt and her family.

"Wha' them muggles do to you Holly. Keeping you in that cupboard, making you look like a skeleton," he sobbed. Large tears rolled down his face.

All Holly could do was watch and shift in her seat awkwardly. She had no clue how to deal with a grown man crying for her. "So the letter was real. I can attend a school for wizards?" her voice was soft as she quickly changed the subject. She really didn't want to deal with an emotional giant.

Hagrid made a loud sniff and rubbed his eyes. He gave her a shaky smile. "Yer a smart gal, just like yer mother. Yer correct. When Professor McGonagall received yer letter... I ne'vr seen 'er so mad. So Professor Dumbledore sent me to go retrieve you." Holly just nodded her head. Dumbledore must be a big name considering how often Hagrid spoke about him. "Did you know we met before Holly?"

"Uhhh no. We have?"

"Ay. I shouldn't be surprised. You were a wee baby. I dropped you off at them muggles' house," his voice began to tremble. Sensing another crying fest, Holly gave him a weak smile as to help reassure him she was fine.

"Hagrid? Can you...can you tell me about my parents?" she asked. Finally, for the first time, she would actually get to hear about her parents.

"O'course Holly. Yer mum and dad were some o' the best students at Hogwarts. You were their pride and joy Holly...They were heroes Holly."

"Heroes?" she questioned, rubbing the scar on her forehead. She watched as Hagrid's eyes began to tear up and he let out a sigh.

"In yer parents' world, our world...yer family is famous Holly. Yer famous Holly." He paused for a moment, his eyes shifting around the pub before focusing back on her. "Yeh see Holly, before yeh were born there was a dark wizard. The wors' of the wors'. Him and his followers they were a rotten lot-"

"What was his name?" Holly questioned abruptly. She had a feeling where this was leading up to and she wanted to know, no, she needed to know the name of the man who was most likely responsible for her parent's death.

Hagrid shifted in his seat, his eyes darting around the room.

"I-I don' like sayin it," he mumbled. Holly frowned at that response.

"Could ya write it?"

Hagrid flushed, "I dunno how to spell it," he sighed again, "A'right. His name was Voldemort, now don't make me say it again," he took another deep breath, "Yeh see Holly, him and his followers hated muggleborns, thought they were lesser-"

"Muggleborns?"

"They are wizards and witches with muggle parents...Well yeh see yer parents were big opposers of You-know-who. And fer some reason Holly, he hunted them down and-" Hagrid paused, choking up once more "He killed them, Holly. And he was going to kill yeh but he couldn'. Something went wrong and he vanished. All that was lef' was tha' scar on yer forehead."

Holly quickly touched her lightning bolt scar as if it would magically fade away. How quickly her world had changed. From being a freak who slaved about her aunt's home and having parents who died in a car accident to find out she was magic, like her parents. Her parents who were murdered while she somehow survived. For a split second, she wished that she had joined them. It wasn't fair, it wasn't fair at all.

"Is he really dead Hagrid. This Voldemort guy?"

Hagrid hushed her, "Holly don' say his name."

She opened her mouth to argue but decided against it. After all, he has probably been the nicest person to her and she rather not make him mad.

"Sorry," she said, not putting in the effort to actually mean it, "but, is he really dead?"

Hagrid stared at her for a moment before shrugging his shoulders, "That is what people believe Holly. But I don't think he had enough of himself to die. Too much evil within him yeh see."

Holly would be lying if she said that didn't put her slightly on edge. In a perfect world, he would be gone and dead. However, this world is flawed and complex. She wouldn't be too surprised if a part of him lingered on. After all, an idea is hard to truly kill. Though what truly disturbed her was not the fact that a mad man may still be around, but the fact she felt nothing for her parents' death. At first, she was shocked, but who wouldn't be if they found out their parents were murdered instead of dying in a car accident. But other than that, she felt nothing. It wasn't as if she had any memories of them or that they mean anything to her. Yet, she still felt off putted that she couldn't even bother to shed a tear for them. After all, they were her parents. So why doesn't she care? Before she got further stuck in her mind, Hagrid's booming voice brought her back to reality.

"Enough with this chatter Holly. Let's get yer supplies eh? Fatten yeh up as well." He stood up and guided her away. As they walked towards a courtyard, Holly made sure to keep her head low. She really didn't want to attract any unnecessary attention and so far she was doing so well. As they arrived at the courtyard all that was there was a trash can in front of a barren brick wall.

"Okay Holly, to get to Diagon Alley, all yeh have to do is tap yer wand three up and two across."

He tapped five bricks with his umbrella and Holly watched with her green eyes wide open as the bricks moved to reveal a bustling shopping alley filled with people dressed in robes and building with misshapen architecture. Of course, a wizarding location would look like this. As she took in the sight in front of her, she had to admit it was a bit medieval if anything. Hagrid peered down at her and gave her a wide grin. "Welcome to Diagon Alley Holly."

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 **I am alive, more or less. Lot of shit happened (like getting out of an emotionally and verbally abusive friendship) and inspiration came and went. So I was kinda drained and emotionally wrecked for a time. It be like that sometimes. Just gunna apologize for any typos I didn't catch. Tbh I'm not a huge fan of this chapter, I don't know it felt kinda meh, Hagrid is hard to write imo. But, I decided to churn it out for yall. I just can't wait for the plot to actually get moving. Well Holly ended up getting to good old Diagon Alley a bit earlier, who knows who she will end up meeting there. I hope yall enjoyed this chapter, I might come back to fix it up (especially the first half). Until next time, whenever that is. Thanks for reviewing this story potterheadunicorn, tentaclecat, LadyClassical, and ThunderClaw03.**


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